Mastering the Cube|历久弥新的魔术方块

Mastering the Cube

by Marcus Maurice

The Rubik's Cube has been around since the 1970s, but it is still as popular as ever.

　　Have you ever heard of the ZZ method? What about the corners first method? Does the Petrus method ring a bell? _(1)_ First developed in 1974 by architect Erno Rubik and marketed as Magic Cube in 1977, Rubik's Cube became the iconic toy of the 1980s. _(2)_　　Rubik's Cube's popularity reached a crescendo in the 1980s when it seemed like there were speedcubing contests springing up all over the world and the first world championships were held in 1982. _(3)_ The World Cube Association (WCA) was formed in 1999 with the goal of having more competitions around the world under fair conditions. _(4)_ While there are many speedcubing tests at the championships, some of the other events include solving different sized cubes, one-handed, with the feet, or blindfolded.

　　Last year, the world record for the fastest solving of the Rubik's Cube was set at 5.55 seconds by Mats Valk. Also, Feliks Zemdegs set the record for average solving time. _(5)_ His middle three times averaged 6.54 seconds. While solving times are getting faster, there has been no word on which methods Valk and Zemdegs use.

(A) The cube's popularity dipped afterwards, but with the arrival of the Internet, speedcubing picked right back up.

(B) To get this record, Zemdegs solved the cube five times and his best and worst scores were thrown out.

(C) All three of these are some of the many ways to solve the simple, yet complex Rubik's Cube.

(D) Rubik's Cube is considered one of the most popular toys in Taiwan.

(E) Since then, it has become the world's best selling toy as children and adults scrambled to solve the 3D puzzle.

(F) In 2003, the WCA started hosting a main competition in different corners of the globe every two years.

历久弥新的魔术方块

魔术方块从 1970 年代就已问世，但至今仍和过去一样受欢迎。

　　你有没有听过 ZZ 解法呢？那么还原角块解法呢？Petrus 解法对你而言是否听起来很耳熟呢？以上三种解法都是解开简单却很复杂的魔术方块的众多方法之一。魔术方块（Rubik's Cube）最早是在 1974 年由建筑师厄尔诺．鲁比克所发展出来，并在 1977 年以 Magic Cube 的名称在市场上销售，还成了 1980 年代的代表性玩具。从那时起，魔术方块就成了全世界最畅销的玩具，因为小孩和大人都急着要解开这个 3D 的难题。

　　魔术方块的人气在 1980 年代逐渐提升，当时似乎世界各地都有速解魔术方块的竞赛如雨后春笋般出现，而第一届的速解魔术方块世界冠军赛于 1982 年举行。后来魔术方块的人气逐渐下跌，但随着网络的出现，速解魔术方块又东山再起。世界魔术方块协会（WCA）于 1999 年创立，其目标是在全世界举办更多公平条件下的竞赛。2003 年，WCA 开始每两年在全世界各个不同的角落举办一项重大赛事。速解魔术方块世界冠军赛中有许多不同的速解魔术方块考验项目，而有些其他的赛事则包含了解开不同大小的魔术方块、用单手解魔术方块、用脚解魔术方块，甚至是蒙眼解魔术方块。

　　去年，最快速解开魔术方块的世界纪录是由马茨．法尔克所创下的五秒五五。另外，菲利克斯．赞姆丹格斯则创下了平均解开魔术方块时间的纪录。为了获得这项纪录，赞姆丹格斯解了五次魔术方块，而他最好的一次和最差的一次成绩都不予记录。他中间三次的平均成绩是六秒五四。虽然解开魔术方块的时间愈来愈快，但法尔克和赞姆丹格斯用的到底是什么方法还是没有人知道。

答案： 1. C 2. E 3. A 4. F 5. B